• consumerfed.org - value of your life insurance plan

For more than a year, Clark has gotten calls from people who have been taken in an international scam involving phony cashier’s checks. The very advanced printers on the market today allow people to print off phony cashier’s checks with no questions. But word is spreading about counterfeit cashier’s checks and people are less likely to get taken. To that end, crooks have come up with a new scam that people know less about. It involves stolen or counterfeit money orders, according to the U.S. Postal Service. Few people use money orders these days. Usually, consumers buy money orders when they don’t have a bank account or they want a guarantee that the money is good. The problem is that the majority of these money orders are fraudulent. If you own a business and you take a money order, please remember that it could be bogus. eBay sellers should also be concerned about money orders. And, if you’re selling a car, don’t take a money order. It’s sad because a money order used to mean the payment was a sure thing. Today, it’s likely that the order is a pure fake.

The Federal Communications Commission is considering whether cell phones are safe to use on airplanes. Apparently, an independent group, working under the FCC, has determined that it is safe. Now the FCC is going to have a period of public comment about using cell phones on airplanes. Clark enjoys not being able to use his phone on a plane. It allows him time to read or watch a movie and just chill out. He calls it “forced boredom.” In Japan, if people are in a public place, they text message each other because they consider it rude to talk on their cell phones. Imagine how chaotic it would be if cell phones were allowed on planes. Would we have “talking” and “no talking” sections on planes? “Texting” or text messaging may be the way to go on planes if we’re really going to allow it. As for the cell phone companies, Clark thinks they need to be more honest and forthright with people in general. A survey called the “Perplexity Poll” found that the main reason people hate their cell phone companies is because they feel that they got ripped off on their rate plan. They feel confused or believe they were deceived about how much they would pay and what services they would receive. It’s just not good business to try and dupe people. They will inevitably fire you and tell all of their friends how horrible you are as a business. In other news, there is a rumor that we’re going to go from 5 national cell phone players to 4. The rumor is that Sprint and Nextel may merge to become more of a powerhouse. We’ll keep you posted.